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A bipartisan group of Colorado of lawmakers on Thursday threw support behind a package of bills that aim to modernize the state's outdated telecom laws and encourage carriers to build high-speed Internet networks in rural and unserved areas.

Though the measures have been in the works for years, it's still unclear how many communities or residents would benefit from the broadband push and advocates for the elderly are concerned that the measures would hurt those who rely on their landline phone as an essential service.

The linchpin of the package is House Bill 1328, which would redirect the high-cost landline phone subsidy — about $54 million a year — toward broadband deployment in
unserved communities, defined as areas
that don't have access to Internet download speeds of at least 4 megabits per second. The subsidy is funded by a 2.6 percent surcharge on landline and wireless phone bills.

Lawmakers say the reallocation is critical to encourage carriers to build into areas they traditionally would avoid, such as the hard-to-reach town of Silverton.

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"If it's a shift from landline funding to help us with this last-mile (broadband connection), that seems like a big win for town," Silverton town administrator Brian Carlson said. "That's where we're stuck. We don't have a problem with our landlines, we have a problem with data."

Bill co-sponsor Sen. Jeanne Nicholson, D-Gilpin County, said even metro-area communities such as Conifer lack adequate broadband coverage, forcing some students to go to the library or stay after school to finish homework that requires a high-speed connection.

"The purpose of this bill is to create a level playing field so all of the kids in the state can do their homework the way they're expected to," she said.

Lawmakers estimated that $3 million to $5 million could be available for broadband deployment by next year.

Sen. Larry Crowder, R-Alamosa, guessed that about 5 percent of schools and about 10 to 15 percent of the state's population fall into the unserved category, based on coverage maps drawn using data provided by carriers.

House co-sponsors of the measure are Rep. Angela Williams, D-Denver, and Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose.

"This legislation will create more opportunity for private investment in Colorado by modernizing regulations and repealing a 1995 telecommunications law that was passed well before widespread adoption of the Internet and wireless communication," Williams said in a statement.

Not all rural communities support the bill because the unserved definition may disqualify some.

"It's a very low threshold to be considered unserved," Virgil Turner, director of innovation for Montrose.

Data show that Montrose has access to speeds above the underserved threshold, but still far below metro Denver's top speeds of 50 Mbps or more.

"Our desire to be on a level playing field with the more urban areas of the state because that's the level of service that folks on the Front Range are deeming necessary to do business," Turner said.

HB-1328 would shift the administration of the fund from the Public Utilities Commission to a new broadband deployment board under the Department of Regulatory Agencies. It would reduce the fund by 5 percent to 20 percent starting in 2016, meaning the surcharge would decrease.

A closely tied measure is HB 1331, which would accelerate the deregulation of landlines. Lawmakers say they want the PUC to determine which areas of the state have effective competition, and thus would no longer qualify for high-cost funds for landline phone service, within two years.

AARP of Colorado opposes both measures. The group argues that deregulation can lead to price increases and degraded service quality.

The measures were introduced Wednesday and are expected to be heard together in committee next week.

"Colorado is a natural hub for all of the telecommunications sector," said Senate President Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, "and yet we still have significant portions of the state who aren't really able to benefit from that."